Advice needed from Framers/carpenters!

Blagadan · Mar 21, 2008

Hey guys, heres the project...

I'm doing some hard landscaping, retaining walls and some decking. I have a couple of 7ft piers I want to put a portico/canopy/roof structure on top of these piers as an entrance to my upper yard...

heres a pic taken early in the project...

The two piers on the left of the photo are the piers in question. They're 10ft apart, 7ft high and each pier is 18" square.

I'm not a carpenter so I'm looking for suggestions on framing this sucker so it doesnt sag in the middle after time. I am going to put a slate roof on it (to match the house and workshop) so it will need to be strong.

I'm thinking of using standard format roof trusses but scaled down a bit. Without a wallplate to support the trusses in the gap between the piers I'm a bit concerned it'll sag. I could make up some tension rods and to attach them to the ridge board but I dont want to over engineer this, I'd like to keep it looking light, I'd like to keep the inner framing of the canopy exposed...

thanks in advance...

blag

Blagadan · Mar 21, 2008

Here's the design I have in my head...

Hip roof, 90 degree pitch...

Blagadan · Mar 21, 2008

Another photo, my workshop on the left. looking out an upstairs window of the house, looking down on the back yard. These photos appear blue 'cos they were taken at first light, 6am and we had a fresh sprinkle of snow that morning...

ChuckinNH · Mar 21, 2008

I'm no carpenter, but a timber frame truss would be the really classy way to go with something you want to leave open. They are beautiful, and very strong. This link will give you some idea what I'm talking about:

Timbercraft Timber Frame Truss and Roof Systems

EddieWalker · Mar 21, 2008

With a 10 foot span, which isn't significant, I would build a pair of headers with 2x12's for both edges of your columns. Since the slate is significantly heavier then anything I've worked with, this is probably going to be overkill.

Rip half inch plywood down to 11 inch lenghths. Sandwich the plywood between the 2x12's with liquid nails and 3 inch screws.

Attach the headers to the columns with metal brackets. Screw them into the wood headers and bolt them into the columns.

The two headers will give you a solid platform to build your roof structure on top of. You can easily extend the rafters down below the beams if you want to hide them.

Eddie

P.S. You posted this in an area that might not get allot of notice. If I was you, I'd send a PM to the owners of this site or one of the moderators like Bird, and ask to have it moved to the Rural Living or Related Topics forums.